Motherly Comfort
by tatertots370
Summary: Seth's absence begins the start of a friendship between Summer and Kirsten. Rating has changed. Complete. Hope you enjoyed it.
1. Phone Call

It had to be at least the tenth time Summer had heard the high-pitched beeping of her alarm clock, and finally opened her eyes and hit the "Off" button with a smack, making a mental note to unset the alarm considering school was now over.

Her hair still had remains of curls from the wedding the previous day. She felt greasy and exhausted. The first morning of a lazy summer called for a long half hour shower.

She wrapped a towel around her body and lightly ran out of her bathroom, leading a trail of water behind her. Summer quickly changed into a pink ruffled skirt and a white wife beater. Maybe Seth would appreciate the small homage to Ryan. Who was she kidding? Seth probably wouldn't even notice if she walked into his house riding a goldfish wearing a clown suit and fairy wings. His first and best friend, his brother, had gone back to Chino. Sure, Chino was just 45 minutes away but it wasn't the distance, it was the fact that they were back in two separate worlds. Ryan would be raising a family now, trying to get a job, probably forgetting all about his education. Seth would be moping a lot, trying to find comfort in Summer, and possibly going back to life as a social misfit. And Summer? Summer was left to watch it all unravel helplessly. She wasn't sure what that meant for her and Seth's relationship.

As Summer walked to the hallway she saw a not left by the table by the front door. "_Summer_," it had scrawled in her father's messy handwriting, "_Kirsten Cohen called. Call her back. You know the number_,"

Neil was still a little bitter about Summer being with Seth despite his dismay. Summer had desperately wanted to please her father but it came to a point when she had to choose one: her father's happiness or her own.

She obediently walked into the kitchen and dialed the Cohen house number. It was true, she had memorized it by heart. Seth's number was actually the first of all the boys' numbers that she had memorized. She liked to think that meant something more then her social life had unimproved since she'd began dating the school emo geek and now she had a lot more time to spend on the phone with her boyfriend.

Ring one: Summer leaned against the cold kitchen counter and waited patiently, beginning to wonder why Kirsten Cohen would call her.

Ring two: Summer contemplated reasons; maybe Seth had been in an accident? No way. That couldn't happen. Where did he have to go? Chino. Oh.

Ring three: Summer threw away the car crash idea and her thoughts were interrupted by an answer of "Hello?"

"Hi, Mrs. Cohen? This is Summer. My dad said you called earlier," Summer replied brightly.

"Yeah, a lot of things happened yesterday and, Seth, he…" Kirsten paused and took a breath in. She tried to think of a way to tell the girl that her boyfriend had gone to Tahiti for the summer.

Summer waited for Kirsten to continue. Snapping at her boyfriend's relatives was never good. She had learned that the hard way. Oh well, Mrs. Goldman _did_ have it coming to her.

"Why don't you just come over today? There's a lot, and I just, I can't tell you over the phone," Kirsten explained unhappily.

Summer suddenly stood straight up. Maybe Seth had really been hurt. Maybe he'd tried to commit suicide. He had been so upset the last time she had talked to him. Maybe he just couldn't go back to life as the outcast.

"He isn't hurt or anything, right?" Summer asked frantically.

"No, nothing like that. Just be over soon,_ please_?" Kirsten asked calmly, stressing the final word as if she was begging.

"Yeah, sure," Summer agreed.

* * *

A/N: This won't be long; this won't be all about the summer. At the most it's gonna be a five-parter. But you never know. I know the first chapter was short. Sorry!


	2. Nervous

Summer walked up to the doorstep of the Cohen home. She waited about a minute before ringing the doorbell. It was times like these she wished she had picked up a nervous habit. Chewing her bottom lip always got lip gloss on her teeth and she stopped biting her nails when she was in fourth grade to avoid chipping her bright blue nail polish. She didn't know why she was nervous. She normally didn't get nervous around her exes' parents. But this was _Seth's _parents. This was _Seth_, he wasn't like her other boyfriends.  
  
A stout Mexican woman opened the door. A small, polite smile lit up on Rosa's face. Rosa had greeted Summer a few times. Rosa was never surprised to see Summer, considering she usually came over to be with Seth.  
  
"Hola, Rosa, como estás?" Summer greeted politely.  
  
"I speak English, you know," Rosa said with a smirk.  
  
"Yeah, just brushing up on my Spanish. Good, right? Anyway, is Kirsten around? She called me," Summer explained.  
  
Rosa nodded and opened her mouth, then decided that it wasn't a good idea to tell the girl that her boyfriend was gone. "I'll go get her," Rosa replied obediently.  
  
Rosa scurried off, leaving Summer alone. Summer closed the door behind her and walked into the house. She looked around at the hallway she had become so familiar with. It almost felt like a home. Although it was empty right now, the fact that she was welcome felt comfortable. She sometimes felt more at home at the Cohen house then her own house, actually, she felt more at home at the Cohen house a lot of times.  
  
"Summer!"  
  
Summer spun around to see Kirsten approaching her. Summer smiled. "Hi, Mrs. Cohen," she said politely.  
  
Kirsten smiled and shook her head. "Don't tell Seth, he would get all 'Mo-_om_, don't be weird!', but please don't call me Mrs. Cohen, there's no reason to be polite...Just ask Seth," she said, rambling slightly. Summer now knew where Seth got it from, or maybe it rubs off. Yeah, it probably rubs off.  
  
"Speaking of Seth, what was it you wanted to tell me?" Summer asked nervously.  
  
"I'll tell you in a second, but first do you want anything to drink or eat?" Kirsten offered, making her way to the kitchen with Summer following behind.  
  
Summer nodded. "Um, water," she requested.  
  
Kirsten got a glass from the cabinet and began filling up the glass. She thought of just how she could tell Summer. It wasn't like Seth could die out there, well, he could, but Kirsten decided not to think of that. He was probably okay, just needed some time to get away and cool off and think. But who needs forty-two days to think? Maybe it was his escape, and maybe in the back of her head, Kirsten knew he really didn't want to come back.  
  
Kirsten turned off the faucet and handed the glass to Summer, who was patiently waiting at the table. "Thanks," Summer mumbled and took a sip.  
  
Kirsten got up and took the letter from the kitchen counter, where she had been keeping it. She sat down at the table alongside Summer and took a deep breath in. "I've been thinking about how I can tell this to you, and I wish I didn't have to, but you need to know. I know this summer was going to be great, and then the plans were...changed. They're going to change more," Kirsten started.  
  
Summer nodded and chewed her bottom lip a little. MAC tasted terrible.  
  
"Seth was upset and angry, angry at me and Sandy for not stopping Ryan, angry at Theresa for this, angry at Ryan, and most likely angry at Marissa. He just didn't know what to do, it's a lot for him and I know his life before Ryan wasn't always great. So...he decided to take a trip alone, to think, get things sorted out. He's gone. To Tahiti. He left you this," Kirsten explained and handed the envelope to Summer. It didn't come out the way she had planned, but it got the job done. She wished she had sounded more understanding, and less like a robot spitting out words.  
  
Summer stared at the envelope, almost as if she looked at it long enough it would disappear and in its place Seth would walk into the kitchen. The silence was uncomfortable for the both of them; it lasted for about two minutes.  
  
"I think I'm gonna go," Summer stated. Her expression was a mixture of shock and heartbreak. She took the letter and got up from the table. Kirsten got up with her.  
  
They walked to the front door without any words. "I know it's probably tough, with Marissa, and everything...I just want you to know if you want anyone to talk to or keep you company...I'll be here all summer," Kirsten assured comfortingly.  
  
Summer nodded and Kirsten pulled her into a hug. Summer mumbled, "Thanks," and left the house.  
  
It would be a long summer alone. But maybe she would take Kirsten up on that offer; after all, a mom would be nice, even if it was for just a while.

* * *

A/N: Not exactly how I planned it to come out, but what can ya do? Oh, how I love Rosa. Please review, if it's on here or TWoP. It's nice to get feedback, and flames are appreciated. =) I'm super-terrible when it comes to long chapters, sorry! I'll try to make the next one longer, m'kay?


	3. A Lonely Summer and Spice

Kirsten sat at her desk, scrolling through e-mails. In the back of her mind, she was really hoping she'd get a note from Ryan saying everything was alright. She wasn't actually sure if Theresa's family had a computer. She knew in Newport they were some type of necessity, but in Chino? Well, she had never actually _been_ to Chino.  
  
"Hel-_lo_!" Sandy's warm voice greeted as he strolled into the office.  
  
Kirsten smiled. Sandy was good at making her feel better. She felt his arms wrap around her shoulders and his lips softly and quickly kiss her head.  
  
"How was your day?" Kirsten asked, spinning her chair around to face Sandy, who had taken a seat in the lounge chair adjacent to the desk chair.  
  
"Everyone wants to sue a cosmetic surgeon. Maybe I should get botox injections and sue the doctor. We could make some money that way, with the Newp..." Sandy paused. He figured Kirsten didn't know about The Newport Group's eventual train wreck. He wouldn't be the one to tell her. He'd leave that up to Caleb, who would tell Kirsten when he wasn't taming the dragon he had of a wife that was Julie Cooper.  
  
"Anyway, how was your day? Any news? _Anything_?" Sandy asked hopefully.  
  
Kirsten shook her head. "No," she replied, "But Summer came here. I told her about Seth and gave her the letter,"  
  
Sandy nodded. "Poor girl," he sympathized, "Her boyfriend's gone and she's got nobody to talk to, I mean, her best friend's Marissa Cooper, who's got so many problems of her own. Her father is Neil Roberts..."  
  
Kirsten agreed with an "Mm..." Sandy was right. Summer had nobody now.  
  
"So, what are we ordering tonight?" Sandy asked causing Kirsten to jump out of her thoughts.  
  
Kirsten shrugged and stood up. "Indian?" she suggested.  
  
Sandy and Kirsten left the office together and headed towards the kitchen. "I love spice," he commented, putting his arm around Kirsten shoulders and pulling her to his chest.  
  
Kirsten wrapped her arms around Sandy's waist and gave him a long kiss. "Mm...spice," she said with a devilish smile.

* * *

Summer sat on her couch, curled up with a bowl of macaroni & cheese and Hershey's with Almonds and a fleece blanket. Nothing too good came on TV late at night, so she was stuck watching a "Friends" DVD. It felt good to see six complicated yet simple people live their lives. So what if it was a sitcom?  
  
She knew she couldn't spend her entire summer like this. Last summer, she would've been at a party at some beach house now. Everything in her world had been so stupid and small, or in the world she pretended to live in. Beach parties, shopping, kissing, shoes, gossip, and freak-dancing with guys were all that mattered. But underneath all of that there was an undeniable yearning, she wanted something badly. She wanted to be loved. She wanted to the center of someone's universe, she wanted to be herself. And she _finally_ got that. And then he runs off to Tahiti on a stupid sail boat named after her.  
  
Summer hated being alone. It wasn't fun and she had spent so much of her life alone. Her father would be off somewhere with an excuse. And her step-mom, Lauren? A druggie late-twenty-year-old woman who was pretty when she was done up in make-up and an expensive dress wasn't so much fun. Lauren had been one of Neil's clients, getting a boob job. Summer figured he enjoyed the work he'd accomplished because next thing she knew he had a new excuse: "I'm going out with Lauren, tonight, peanut. I'll take you out shopping on Saturday," It was a bad excuse, especially to a young girl. She would complain to Marissa and her friends about being ignored. Summer was past that now. Now she put on a front with her father, and he would put one on with her. Sure, they were best friends. All she wanted was his approval, for once.If he wouldn't give her that, then fine.  
  
Summer betted Kirsten was barely alone. She had work, Sandy, her father, Seth, Ryan, and Julie Cooper. Although Seth and Ryan were gone and Julie and Caleb were in married bliss, which made Summer very reluctant to go see Marissa, she still had someone.  
  
Summer didn't want to be alone this summer. She wouldn't be alone this summer.  
  
She was going to be with Kirsten this summer.  
  
First thing tomorrow she was calling Kirsten.

* * *

A/N: Brief history of my version of Summer's family there and her popularity. The basic point of this chapter was to show the contrast of Summer and Kirsten's lives from the outside, I have no idea if it worked. Don't we _all _want to be loved, especially by Adam Brody? The bonding is coming, I promise! Please leave some reviews, you guys are freakin' awesome. I love you all! 


	4. Two Ice Cubes

**Disclaimer:** The OC doesn't belong to me, I'm just a fan. Although this Lauren character _is_ mine, so if you wanna use her, ask, please! By the way, I won't be posting this in every chapter, so take it now!

* * *

Everything about today had been planned into Summer's head all up until she and Kirsten actually saw each other. When Summer woke up she took a brief shower and changed into faded jeans and an off-the-shoulder top. It reminded her of Kirsten, in a way. Summer then called the Cohen home number at precisely 11:37. If she called at 11:30 she thought it might seem like she was anticipating calling, which she was.

After one ring a panicked Kirsten answered with "Hello, who's this?"

"Hi, Kirsten, it's Summer. Can I come over today?" Summer asked simply.

Kirsten automatically felt a pang of sympathy in her stomach. She was going to get some work done today, but it would have to wait.

"Yeah, of course. That'd be great. Come whenever you like," Kirsten invited warmly.

Summer smiled. "Thanks. I'll see you soon," she said.

She quickly hung up the phone and got into her car. Here it went. She had planned everything except for this.

* * *

Kirsten waited in the kitchen. Her body was a little tingly with anticipation. She was strangely excited to hear Summer's story, or at least what she was feeling. Kirsten knew more about this young and scarred girl then Summer knew she did. Kirsten knew Summer before she became Seth's girlfriend.

The doorbell rang. Kirsten took a final sip of her water, with ice, but only two cubes. She didn't like a lot of ice, but for some reason thought the other ice cube would feel...lonely. It was an odd fixture she'd had ever since she was younger. She swung open the heavy door.

"Hi," was all Summer could muster.

Kirsten smiled warmly. She wanted Summer to feel at home. She had never been good at that. Ryan had ran back to Chino. No matter how much Kirsten knew it was because he felt a loyalty to Theresa or didn't want the child to grow up like he did, in the back of her mind, she felt a part of it was because she hadn't been too welcoming at the beginning.

"Come in," Kirsten invited as she motioned Summer to the living room.

Summer followed and took a seat on the couch, her back straight. Kirsten sat on the chair, leaning forward and her legs close together.

"What's on your mind?" Kirsten asked and tried to have Summer open up.

"I just...I want to get out. I don't want to stay home all day, thinking about Seth. Can we go out for brunch or something?" Summer asked nervously.  
  
Kirsten nodded. "Where to?" she asked and Summer shrugged.

"How about the Back Bay Café? It's pretty inexpensive, I doubt you've ever been there," Kirsten suggested.

"No, I have. My mom used to take me to it when I was little. Every Sunday. I loved the patio," Summer explained with a faint smile at the memory.

"We'll sit on the patio," Kirsten decided.

* * *

"What would you ladies like to drink today?" the waiter asked, reciting the routine with no charisma.

He looked at Summer for her order. "Just a glass of water, with two ice cubes. Just two...I don't want the other to get, um, lonely," Summer said slightly embarrassed.

"Me too, especially the ice cubes part," Kirsten said.

The waiter smiled and walked away swiftly.

"So, have you been talking to Marissa recently?" Kirsten asked. She found it strange that Summer was with her, and not Marissa.

Summer shook her head. "I'm sort of scared. I know I shouldn't be, and I should be there for her," she sighed.

Kirsten knew it would take a little to get her to open up. It was actually a guess. She had only raised boys, and had many insecurities about her parenting skills. Her son was a social loner and ran off to Tahiti when his friend left, and her foster son didn't really trust her and ran off to Chino when his ex-girlfriend got pregnant.

"Why are you scared?" Kirsten enquired. It was better to let Summer do the talking.

"Marissa...she doesn't do well with pain and, um, loneliness. She wants to be with her dad and not with her mom. That's pretty obvious. But I know how much she misses Ryan. She depends on him a lot, even when they weren't together. She hated when they broke up. And I know she'll do something, bad. I mean, like drinking or whatever. I get really freaked out when I see her like that," Summer explained.

Kirsten nodded. She wanted to say something comforting, but decided continuing with questions was good for now. "Have you ever seen her drinking?" Kirsten asked.

Summer bit her lip. "I used to. I was afraid to say something. Now she does it less, and I don't see her, like, drinking. I see her after. When she's been crying and drinking. Sometimes, not a lot, but she'll have taken a few pills. Usually just stuff to make her numb. I found her diary a year ago or something, it had a lot of bad stuff in it. She'll usually call me as she's crying and I know something's up. To see her...It reminds me of _something_," Summer said quietly.

Kirsten knew exactly what Summer was reminded of, but would save that for another time. "I'm sorry you have to see that," Kirsten sympathized.

Summer shrugged and returned to her usual, upbeat demeanor. "Yeah. So, tell me about your life," she stated with a complete change of topic.

The waiter came by and set the drinks on the table. "Have you decided what you're ordering?" he asked.

They both nodded. "French toast with bacon," Kirsten ordered.

"Short buttermilk pancakes with a side of fruit, I want strawberries, grapes, and melon. Put the butter puffs, you know how the butter's in puffs when it's all whipped, on top of the pancakes and the syrup on the side. Thanks," Summer ordered, getting every detail down.

The waiter nodded and walked away the same way he had arrived.

"What were you saying?" Kirsten asked.

"Tell me about your life," Summer stated clearly.

"What do you mean? Work? Newpsies? Sandy? Ryan? Seth?" Kirsten asked, a little confused.

Summer got a quick jumping feeling in her stomach when she heard Seth's name. It had become normal. She soon remembered that Seth was gone. She stopped thinking of him and replied, "Everything. I don't know a lot about you,"

"Okay...Well, once a month on Saturday afternoons a bunch of Newport wives and businesswomen come over for drinks and little snacks, nothing too big because they're all on Atkin's, and we talk about the next event where Ryan can get in a fight," Kirsten said with humor in her tone.

Summer was enchanted with the seemingly simple life of Kirsten. She wanted something similar. Her life had never been simple. It was always complicated, but she hid it with false smiles and bitchiness most of the time. But there were a few people in her life who saw past that, and while it scared it at first, it showed her who she could really depend on and love. Summer hadn't let herself love anyone for a while.

The meal passed quickly and Kirsten stretched out all of the details of her life to take up more time. Kirsten drove Summer back to the house.

"Thanks for brunch," Summer said as the car stopped in the driveway. The car ride had been pleasant, not as awkward as the first one.

"No problem, it was fun. Would you like to meet up tomorrow again? Whenever you like," Kirsten suggested.

It wasn't just that she wanted to make sure Summer didn't become very lonely over the summer, but she also wanted to hear Summer's story so badly, even if it came out piece by piece, or if it took a while to get it all out in one time.

Summer smiled a genuine smile. "Sure. I'll call, or you can call me. I don't want to be the only ice cube in the glass," she agreed.

With that, the two went their separate ways, with a feeling of a beginning.

* * *

**A/N:** And the bonding begins. The Back Bay Cafe is actually a restaurant in Newport, I went online and looked. I didn't see the menu, so all of that is imagination, but I'm guessing they would have similar items. I also doubt they would only put two ice cubes in a glass, but this is fiction, people! Please give me feedback and tell me how I'm doing, you guys have been so awesome with that!


	5. The Truth and the Story

**WARNING, READ: The following chapter has some not-so-friendly things in it. It mentions self-injury, suicide attempts, drug use, and alcoholism along with a small mentions of death from illness. If you are uncomfortable with any of those issues and don't want to hear about them, do not read the following chapter. I'll give you a "cheat sheet" next chapter, so you won't miss anything from the story. Thanks. **

* * *

Kirsten decided it was her turn to call Summer. It was a Sunday. She figured she could just talk to her today. She didn't want to pressure Summer into talking about anything, and the summer was unfortunately not moving too quickly. She picked up her office phone and dialed Summer's house number.

"Hello, Roberts house," a man's voice answered. Kirsten automatically knew it was Neil. **Great**.

"Hi, Neil, it's Kirsten Cohen. Is Summer home?" Kirsten replied. She knew Summer was home, where else would she be?

"Yes. I'll go get her for you," Neil sighed.

After a few seconds, Summer answered the phone. "Good morning," she greeted, sleepily.

"It's noon," Kirsten corrected.

"Fine, good noon," Summer said cleverly.

Kirsten ignored her comment and continued to ask if Summer wanted to come over today and eat lunch. Coming over to talk sounded to odd and distant to Kirsten.

"Um, okay. Want me to make it?" Summer suggested.

"Seth told you about my cooking, huh?" Kirsten asked.

"Yeah, and if you could not, like, touch any food, that'd be good,"

* * *

Kirsten took another bite of her Stouffer's Lasagna. Summer had made some for the both of them. Kirsten didn't bother to tell her Sandy was the only one who ate the lasagna.

"No!" Summer said with a frustrated sigh.

Kirsten looked up from her food. A small, red sauce stain was on the bottom of Summer's yellow, striped shirt. "It'll come out," Kirsten said calmly.

"But it's Ella Moss and was three-hundred dollars!" Summer shrieked.

Kirsten smiled slightly. She got up from the table. "First, you need to stop spending so much money on clothes. And second, I can get Rosa to wash it now if it means that much, I guess you can wear one my shirts…or Sandy's," she suggested jokingly.

Summer frowned. "I guess it's just sauce…" she sighed.

The walked into the living room and sat down on the couch, with some distance between them. "So, here's an idea," Summer began.

Kirsten nodded as her signal to continue.

"I ask you a few questions, and you can ask me a few, anything. Nothing is off limits. We can go on or if it gets boring, stop," she finished.

Kirsten agreed, seeing as this was a way for her to learn more about Summer. She already knew the story, but she didn't know what was a rumor and what was the truth. People in Newport ate up a story like this, and it sickened Kirsten, really.

"You can start," she said.

Summer took a breath in. "How are you so calm about Seth and Ryan being gone?" she asked bluntly.

Kirsten opened her mouth, but then paused to think out her answer. She wanted to be honest and open up, because if she didn't, how would Summer do the same to her? "I'm _not_," she stated.

She continued, "There's an amazing amount of stress I manage to keep hidden. I guess a part of me is calm about it because I have Sandy there. He's always been very mellow, sort of, when it comes to things like this. He's been telling me things like Seth will probably come back early, he just needed sometime to cool off, and that Ryan's always been very mature, and that he'll come to us if he needs help, but while I'd like to, I don't think I believe all of that. I still… I have doubts,"

Summer was surprised. She thought Kirsten had this perfect life, and it was obvious she didn't. She knew it'd be good not to push any further, but she did. That was just something Summer did. "What doubts?"

Kirsten saw that one coming. Now she had opened a can of worms, it seemed. "Some doubts at work. My father's putting pressure on me a lot, I feel like I have to impress him. He's never really been the same ever since my mother passed away…I'm not saying he was a great father to begin with, but now I feel like it's a responsibility to make him happy. But also I have self-doubts about parenting. I was never too welcoming to Ryan, I feel like I pushed him away. I can't help but think that's why he left and Seth, he was a loner, and I felt responsible for that. Like, I did something wrong that made people not accept him…" she stopped.

"I'm sorry, I was rambling," she finished.

Summer wasn't sure how to respond. She was officially out of questions. She took the chance to be maternal to Kirsten, in a way. "I know how it feels to want to impress your dad. I mean, that's the reason I broke up with Seth for a little. But, you don't have to. But I guess it's different for you, so you might want to impress him as your boss, but outside of that, you don't have to. I guess I realized that," she said shakily. She felt weird giving someone older then her advice.

"And…Ryan's a hero. He wants to be, and he will be. When he sees someone that needs to be saved, he's going to save them. He left to save Theresa, you have to know that, okay? And it definitely wasn't your fault Seth was alone. We ignored him, everyone did. It was wrong, it was mean, but it's just…nobody was bothering to think about him. And…" she paused again for breath, "God, I was terrible," she came to her own realization, that when Seth said everyone ignored him, she was one of them. Did he think that she would ignore him again?

"Thanks. It's nice to have someone to tell all that to," Kirsten told her honestly.

Summer smiled. "It's nice to actually give advice. Um, you can ask now," she said.

Kirsten took a deep breath in. The next topic wasn't going to be happy or friendly or anything she wanted to see a girl that young go through, but she was going to bring it up. "What happened to your mother?"

Summer sat, dumbfounded. She didn't know what to say. She wasn't sure if she was ready to tell anyone this story. It took a lot. She tried not to think about her mother a lot. She and her father never mentioned her, and nobody else knew. But she couldn't keep it inside forever and she knew that. It was time.

"When I was around six or seven, my dad started to not be home a lot. My mom, she never liked being alone. And a little first-grader wasn't that great of a friend I guess. So, she started going out at night, and being little, I thought she just went out with friends, you know? But, but, she would go and pick up guys or whatever and get drunk and have sex with random people most of the time butI think sometimes she'd snort coke and do heroin but not that much. I'm pretty sure she was an alcoholic and a drug addict, I mean, nobody ever told me but, I saw some papers, um, so…my dad found out and they fought a lot. Um, but, my mom stopped going out after a while, and stayed home and would drink," Summer took a breath and swallowed, "and she'd cry, and it scared me so, _so_ much. Sometimes she'd tell me she wanted to die when she was really drunk, and…she wanted to leave me and my dad 'cause she just didn't care…and…I guess she got sick of being alone a lot, I mean, I know she had her friends but…one night, she got out this knife and, she was really drunk, and I just watched her, and she cut…she cut her arms…I think she meant to slit her wrists but was too drunk to, to get it right,"

Summer eyes were about to overflow with tears and Kirsten felt a deep pit in her stomach for making her tell the story. "You don't have to do this…please, don't do this," Kirsten whispered, putting her hand on top of Summer's, comfortingly.

Summer flinched, but didn't pull away. She shook her head and wiped a tear that had rolled down her cheek. "I want to," she whispered, looking down.

Kirsten nodded. It was even painful to watch her go through saying it. She couldn't imagine her living it.

"When she was in the hospital, she went to a psychiatrist and basically, they said the best thing for her to do was leave. And, so she woke me up one night and told me she was leaving, I was like, nine. I never saw her again, and every time I'd ask my dad would say she's getting better…so, I stopped asking. I...I…I really miss her. I know she wasn't too great of a mom but…she was when I was really little and it's just…I don't know. I'm sorry," she finished.

Kirsten sat in silence. She rubbed Summer's hand and watched her wipe tears from her eyes.

"This is kind of stupid, for me to just blurt out my life story, right?" she asked through tears, and then sniffled.

Kirsten shook her head. "I'm so sorry…I had no idea. I'm so sorry, but…" she got up from the couch, "I might--hold on,"

Summer waited patiently and cleared up her tears. She regretted even mentioning her mother. She wasn't ready. It was too much, nobody wanted to know about it.

Kirsten returned in about fifteen minutes with a piece of paper with writing on it. She handed it to Summer.

"When your mother left, she called me a few days later and I traced back the number, but we never talked. I don't know if you can still reach her there, but if you ever wanted to…" she trailed off, at a loss for words. She couldn't imagine why Summer would want to visit that memory.

Summer nodded and got up from the couch. "I think I just want to go home, and sleep," she said quietly.

Kirsten nodded and gave a whispered, "Okay. Do what you need to," and walked her out of the house.

She had learned more then she had ever wanted.

She felt awful.

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry to do this, but I'm leaving on the twenty-sixth for a seven week trip and won't be back until mid-August, meaning all my stories will be on hiatus. Don't worry, it'll get happier when I come back! This chapter was probably the hardest fan fiction I have ever had to write. Getting it across that Summer was opening up and why and what she would say and how...it was all very hard. I can't say I'm completely satisfied with this chapter, but I'm happy with my effort. Please, please give me a review and some feedback, I'd like to know how I can improve. Thanks for reading!


	6. Confrontation

**Cheat Sheet from Chapter 5: The Truth and the Story-** If you felt uncomfortable reading the previous chapter, here's a overview of what happened: Summer told Kirsten tearfully about what happened to her mother, Kirsten gave Summer a number to reach her mother, and Kirsten told Summer some of her doubts. Enjoy the new chapter!

**Disclaimer:** I don't have any involvement with _The O.C. _Also, I am my own beta, so any mistakes are my fault.

* * *

Summer woke up late the next few days. She hadn't talked to Kirsten in about a week. It was Friday now, but she didn't really notice. She had lost track of the time.  
  
She wanted to call Kirsten, but she didn't want to be rude. Wouldn't she be working? Summer chose to wait until around 4:00. That way, she would probably be home. Summer realized she cared a _little_ too much about this.  
  
"Hello?" a man's deep but friendly voice answered the phone.  
  
"Hi, is Kirsten in? This is Summer Roberts," she said nervously, cringing at her extreme-politeness.  
  
"Oh, okay, hold on," he agreed, then called to Kirsten.  
  
Kirsten quickly answered with a bright "Hi, Summer!"  
  
"Hi," Summer paused, "Kirsten. I was just calling to say, um, hey," she lied uncomfortably. For some reason, she felt awkward. Maybe it was because of the last time they saw each other. Summer never really let herself go like that.  
  
Kirsten noticed, and decided she'd be the one to break the newly-frozen ice. "I heard your father's going to the charity ball tonight. Are you coming with him?" she commented.  
  
Summer rolled her eyes and snatched up an opportunity to rant about her father, who she had recently gotten in a disagreement over the party with. "He's _making_ me! Like, why is he even going? What does a plastic surgeon have to do with kids with heart problems? Is he gonna like, give them chin implants?" she rambled.  
  
Kirsten laughed a little. "I'll see you there then. Julie told me Marissa will be there with her and Caleb,"  
  
Summer bit her lip, and got a taste of Jessica Simpson's lip gloss, Dessert. This flavor was supposed to taste like sugar, or cream, or something, but it didn't really. It was just better then her other MAC gloss, and now she had a nervous habit. "Awesome," she said through cringed teeth. She still hadn't talked to Marissa all summer.  
  
"I'm gonna go get ready, I have to shower and all that. I'll see you later," Summer finished. She hung up the phone with a click.

* * *

Summer was slowly getting ready to explode. She had only been at the party for about ten minutes, but there were only so many appetizers she could steal off of waiters' trays. There were two types of Newport parties she went to. The first, were for sophisticated older Newpsies who threw them not for the cause, usually, but to show off that they could throw them, and sometimes they brought their children so later they could all talk about how big Bobby got and how Alexis has turned out so beautifully the next day. The second, were for Newport teens to get drunk, get high, and hook-up. The next day people would talk about what Alexis and Bobby did in the bathroom.  
  
She watched as her stepmother took another sip of wine and her father talked with a tall, dark-haired man. Summer turned her head when she saw Kirsten walk in with Sandy by her side, obviously unhappy to be there. She smiled slightly, and Kirsten walked over to her after greeting a group of women who had flocked her the moment she entered.  
  
"Bored?" she asked, rhetorically.  
  
"They don't serve any good soda," Summer sighed, taking a bite of a cracker.  
  
"I'll introduce you to someone," Kirsten said.  
  
Summer scrunched her face up. "Um, must you?" she complained.  
  
"You'll like her!" Kirsten exclaimed, and led her over to a woman with a little girl by her side.  
  
The girl looked around seven or eight, her hair was a light brown color, and she looked annoyed. She was gripping a small, bright pink purse in her left hand. She had been arguing with her mother and had yelped, "Mommy! I wanna go **now**!"  
  
"Hi, Maddie, this is Summer. She's my friend," Kirsten said sweetly to the little girl.  
  
Summer held out her hand. "Hi, Maddie,"  
  
Maddie shook Summer's hand slowly. "Do you like my purse?" she asked, holding out the little, glittery bag.  
  
"Gorgeous! I think I want one of my own," Summer exclaimed, noticing that Kirsten had wandered off to leave her alone with the little girl.  
  
"Yeah, yeah. Now that they're gone, do you have a boyfriend?" Maddie questioned.  
  
"I was just like you when I was little!" Summer yelped, realizing that she really was. Kirsten had been right.  
  
"Great. But answer my question!" Maddie ordered.  
  
Summer sighed. "Yeah, do _you_?" she said with a smirk, elongating the "you".  
  
Maddie put the hand that wasn't holding her purse on her hip. "Yes, I do, and his name is Daniel. He's very nice," she stated.  
  
"Oooh!" Summer said tauntingly.  
  
Summer heard the click-clack of heels and turned to see Marissa had came through the door with Caleb and Julie. She bit her bottom lip, wishing she hadn't worn Revlon. "I've gotta go, but it was very nice to meet you, Maddie. Do you know where your mom is?" she said quickly.  
  
"At the bar probably. And she's my step-mom, o_kay_? I'll be fine, bye," Maddie said with an eye-roll. The girl was too familiar for Summer.  
  
Summer quickly scurried off to find her father. She spotted him sitting at a table, already eating, surrounded by adults that seemed to be a little drunk. She tapped him on his shoulder and whispered in his ear, "Daddy, I'm tired. I'm gonna call a cab, okay?"  
  
He nodded and handed her twenty dollars from his shirt pocket, not bothering to introduce her to the tipsy Newpsies.  
  
As she sat in the taxi cab, she knew that she didn't need to feel that guilty when she saw Marissa. There was a reason.

* * *

"KiKi, I need those reports," Caleb stated firmly.  
  
Kirsten and him were in a corner of the building, shut off from the rest of the party and arguing.  
  
"It's not my job, it's Barry's to do those reports," she tried to explain. She had enough of Caleb's constant pressure on her.  
  
"Barry quit," he notified her.  
  
"Well, that's too bad, Dad. But, guess what? I can't do everything right. I've got a life, a family, and a lot of things on my mind. I'm sorry that Barry quit, I really am, and I'm sorry that Julie isn't mom and that you're taking the fact that this marriage was a mistake out on me," Kirsten shouted, feeling a little embarrassed at going off on her father like that. She began to storm away, having the feeling of being a teenager again.  
  
"KiKi! Come back! Kiki!" Caleb called after her, the room full of his voice echoing.  
  
Kirsten didn't even bother to listen.

* * *

Summer knocked on the big, wooden, polished door of the Cooper-Nichol home. The house overwhelmed her, but she could only focus on her fear of her best friend opening the door to the home. Well, she wasn't really sure if Marissa was still her "best friend". They had grown apart over the year, both with their different problems and lives. Summer had Seth and Anna, Marissa had Ryan and her drama of the week, it wasn't like they had a lot of time to just sit around together, gossip, and do all the little girly things they used to do. The question clogged Summer's mind until her thoughts disappeared when Marissa opened the door.  
  
Summer wanted to smile and say hello and begin painting her nails and watching movies, but she couldn't. She could tell something was wrong; she knew something was wrong. Marissa's eyes were red from crying, and she was wearing jeans and a brown t-shirt, which looked normal enough to Summer. She looked past Marissa, and could see a half-empty glass on the table with a bottle of vodka next to it. She had a flash of a memory from when Luke and Marissa had gotten in a huge fight. Summer had came over and saw a glass with vodka in it, and Marissa said it had been her mother's. Summer knew it wasn't, but she was too scared to say anything at the time.  
  
She just pulled her heartbroken friend into a hug, and whispered, "It's okay,"  
  
Marissa pulled away from the hug and tears began to streak down her face. Summer closed the door behind them. She walked with Marissa to the table they both looked at the glass in silence. "It's not like, like I want to do it, it just helps, or I mean, I think it does," Marissa said quietly in between sobs.  
  
Summer nodded. "I know," she said, "But…it doesn't. It doesn't do anything. I know,"  
  
A rush of painful memories stung Summer. Marissa took the glass and threw it on the hard floor of the kitchen, and then threw the bottle down with it, glass shattering everywhere, almost with a rush of adrenaline. Marissa sat back down, beginning to cry hysterically. Summer took her hand and gently rubbed it, unsure of how to react. Minutes passed, and she simply said, "I'll clean it up,"  
  
Marissa had stopped crying and shook her head. "No, let them see it when they get home. I wanna go somewhere. Let's leave," she said firmly, getting up from her chair.  
  
"Let's go to the beach," Summer suggested, a smile slowly coming onto her face.  
  
"Like old times," Marissa said as she slowly recovered from her mess of emotions she had just experienced, "I'll go change. You can borrow a swim suit,"  
  
Summer smiled to herself, knowing she'd never fit it Marissa's clothes, but just nodded. They were back on track.

* * *

**A/N:** Oh, it's good to be back. That last chapter kind of left me feeling unsatisfied with the Kirsten/Caleb and Summer/Marissa, so sorry about that. Next chapter will be refreshing, it's not as angsty and dramatic. Also, if you remember from the second chapter, it was said that Summer didn't have a nervous habit, and so in this chapter I said now she had good-tasting lip gloss to bite her lip. Sorry if you didn't catch it. Thanks for reading, please drop a review!


	7. Cotton Candy Fluff

Kirsten stopped the car and parked on the field that was being used as a parking lot.

"Here we are!" she exclaimed.

Summer turned off the radio and rolled down her car window. "The Orange County Summer Carnival 2004 is my surprise?" she asked skeptically.

"When was the last time you went to a carnival?" Kirsten asked rhetorically.

Summer sighed and unfastened her seatbelt. "We can go,"

Kirsten quickly got out of the car with a huge smile on her face.

"I _love_ carnivals! I never got to go to any as a kid, my dad just can't stand carnivals," she explained as the pair strolled along.

"Let's get cotton candy," Summer said absent-mindedly.

"Have you talked to Marissa recently?" Kirsten asked.

Summer steered toward the cotton candy stand. She took five dollars out of her purse and put it on the counter. "Yeah," she answered, "She's been drinking, and, we went to the beach, and I told her to call her therapist and set up some appoitments, 'cause Ryan would want her to,"

Kirsten nodded. "My gift to you," Summer said as she handed Kirsten one of the blue cotton candies.

Kirsten accepted the sugary treat happily. "Do you think she's going to? Or should I talk to my dad?" she asked.

"No, no, no. Marissa will do it as long as her mom doesn't find out. That makes her want to do anything else. She likes to, um, rebel, but mostly because she hates her mom," Summer replied quickly.

"It's not like my dad would want to hear from me right now. I got in an arguement with him at the charity ball the other night. He takes about five days to get over that, which is just five days for me to do my work without him on my back," Kirsten sighed.

"Oh. What was it about?" Summer asked with a mouth full of cotton candy.

"He's just been giving me all this work and I snapped. I said something like him trying to replace my mom with Julie,"

"Ouch,"

"I know. Let's just go on the ferris wheel, okay?" Kirsten said, slightly annoyed with the thought of her dad.

The pair got handed over their tickets and got on a ferris wheel cart. "I know how it is, though. My dad tried to replace my mom with Lauren," Summer commented.

Kirsten remembered that Summer had a similar experience, it was nice to talk to someone who had the same hardships. She never got to really have anyone know how it was without having to explain anything to them. There was Hailey, of course, but about a month after their mother died, Hailey took off because she couldn't stay. Without their mother, Hailey felt like the place was empty. She was supposed to go on a trip to France for a month, when a month became six. After that, the trips got longer, Kirsten got involved in finishing college, and the two sisters grew apart.

"It sucks," Kirsten stated in reply.

"I've tried to call her, I just...can't. I sort of want to know her again, but then, I don't want to even see her," Summer said, staring down at the ground below them.

"I don't want to tell you what to do, but, to never have anyone maternal, that must be hard. Don't you just want to...see what a mother's like?" Kirsten asked, feeling guilty about even making Summer consider contacting the woman who did so many horrible things to her.

Summer looked up at Kirsten and smiled. "As cheesy as this might sound, I already have,"

* * *

"Oh my God, that little boy was so mean!" Summer yelped as the two walked out of the carnivasl to the car.

"Well, I think he'll be a little nicer next time he plays Bumper Cars thanks to you," Kirsten said lightly, in between laughing.

"What? He was, like, giving us whip lash, okay?" Summer retorted.

"Right," Kirsten teased.

"Can you drive straight to my house? I have to get up early tomorrow. Hair appoitment," Summer requested.

"How early is it?"

"Um," Summer hesititated, "Ten. No teasing,"

Kirsten sighed, "Fine. We'll go home, Miss Bumper Cars Road Rage,"

* * *

**A/N:** This one was short, it's really just a break from all the angst and drama, because up next, there's a lot. This chapter was basically all dialogue, so is the next chapter. Well, it will be, I think. Please, if you're reading, review. Reviews give me motivation to update, people!


	8. Contact

__  
It was another one of those days where it was unbearable to Kirsten. It was a dull Sunday, and Sandy had to finish up a case. She took out her old photo album of Seth when he was younger. Pictures from his Bar Mitzvah, pictures of him and Sandy in Disney World, pictures of him at fifth grade graduation. She couldn't help but let a few of the pages get wet, after all, she couldn't wipe away every single tear.

But the fact that both of her sons were gone was slowly hurting more and more every day that passed. She knew she couldn't get Ryan to come back home. He was trying to be that knight in shining armor. But she could get Seth back. And sooner then in a month or two. She tried to think of how. _How_ could she find him on the water? Some state official could be on the lookout for him, maybe. She closed the photo album and picked up the phone to call her husband.

"Partridge, Savage and Kahn offices, how may I help you?" a perky woman's voice answered.

"Marie, it's Kirsten. Is Sandy there?"

"Oh, yeah, I just have to put you on hold,"

Kirsten tried to be patient but she wasn't suceeding._ God, how hard is it to touch a few buttons and intercom somone?_

"Hello,"

"Sandy, you _need_ to come home, we need to do something about Seth," Kirsten stated.

"Is he okay?" Sandy asked, getting a chill just at the thought.

"I don't know, that's the thing. Can you be here soon?" she replied.

"Yeah, just let me settle this case, I'll be there around lunch," he answered.

"Sure. I'll see you then, love you," she said.

"Love you,"

Kirsten hung up the phone.

* * *

Summer hung up the phone again. The small piece of paper was crumpled and sitting next to Summer's glass of water. She had gotten through the first six digits when she got scared again. She tried to tell herself that it was wasting her time to just sit there, dialing and dialing a number but never calling it. Never speaking to the person on the other end. It didn't make sense. 

She constantly asked herself what she was so afraid of, and she knew the answer. She was scared that her mother wouldn't want her, that her mother might even be the same hurtful person that left her in California. Summer then felt a feeling slight anger. She wanted to show her mother she was alright. To make her see how far she had come without her. That's what motivated her to finally dial the number and _not_ hang up.

* * *

Sandy arrived home a little after noon. Kirsten had been waiting on the couch. "We can't just let him float on the ocean, Sandy," Kirsten said as he walked through the door. 

"I missed you too, honey. My day was fine, a little hard, _aw, I love you_!" Sandy replied sarcastically.  
  
"This isn't funny, this is our son. We need to get him back before he gets hurt," Kirsten stated firmly with a hit to Sandy's arm. He wrapped his arms around her and Kirsten slowly began to cry.

"What if there's a storm? What if he runs out of water?" she whispered, finally confronting herself with all of her fears that had been in the corner of her mind all summer.

"It'll be okay," Sandy comforted, and paused to see if he really believed what he was saying, "I'll contact the Coast Guard. I'll give them a description of Seth and the boat," he finished.  
  
"_The Summer Breeze_," Kirsten said quietly.

Sandy shook out of his thoughts. "What?" he asked as he sat down to his wife on the couch cradling her in his arms.

"It's the name of his boat, _The Summer Breeze_, after Summer," she said, almost inaudibly. She felt weak. She couldn't hold up her tough exterior anymore. She felt like she didn't even have the power to speak at a loud volume.

"I know. He loves that girl, you know," Sandy commented softly while he twirled a strand of Kirsten's hair in his fingers.

"They really do care about each other," she thought out loud.

"We'll get him back, you know that," Sandy assured.

"I don't know, Sandy. We already lost one of them..." Kirsten began, erupting into more tears.

Sandy held her close and kissed the top of her head, not saying a thing. There was no way he could assure her because he was thinking the same thing.

* * *

"Hello, Harrison residence," Summer took a sharp breath in. A woman had answered the phone. Harrison was her mother's maiden name. Was the voice on the other end her mother? 

"Hello, I'm calling for Christine, it's a personal business matter," Summer greeted, not wanting to reveal her identity yet.

"No, I'm sorry, this is her parents' house. Do you want me to give you her home number?" the woman answered warmly.  
  
"Yes, please," Summer answered politely. That was her grandmother. Summer never met her grandmother. She recieved the number and hung up, just to pick up the phone and dial the number quickly, just wanting to get it all over with.

"Hello?" a woman's voice answered.

Summer could barely breath. It was too much. The moment she had thought about ever since her mother closed the door to her room that one night. She managed to get out a "Mom?" Uttering the mere word sent a quick shiver through Summer's body. It was unfriendly.

"Who is this?" Christine asked curiously with shock.

"It's Summer," she replied, just wanting to cry.

"Oh my God..." was whispred through the line.

"I got your number from Kirsten Cohen," Summer stated.

"You know Kirsten Cohen? How is she? Is she still married to that lawyer? How's her little boy, Sam?" Christine inquired, all of her Newport memories suddenly rushing back to her.

"She and Sandy are fine, and their son is Seth. I'm, uh, dating him," Summer replied.

Christine gasped, realizing how much she had missed of her daughter's life. "You're dating now. You're about sixteen, right?"

"Yeah. God, I can't believe you even have to _ask_! You should _know_. You should know who my first boyfriend was, you should know that Dad's married to some drugged-up bitch, and that I cried so many nights over you. Do you know how jealous I got? All my friends' moms came and said good night at sleepovers, and it just..." Summer stopped her talking. She couldn't help it. It was true, and it was so hard. She wished she had never called, she just wanted to hang up right then, but she wouldn't let herself.

"I thought about calling you so many times, I, I wanted to know how my little girl was doing. My little Summer. I wish I hadn't done what I did," Christine said sadly.

"You _thought_ about calling. Did you ever call?" Summer asked coldly.

There was a pause. She already knew the answer. She could hear quiet crying. A little sympathy stung Summer. She knew her mother wasn't a cold, evil, abandoning bitch.

"No," Christine answered finally.

"Are you sorry?" Summer whispered, scared that if she was too loud she might break the thin ice.

"Of course. Look...Summer, you don't have to forgive me. I wouldn't forgive me. I'm a horrible mother. No little girl should ever have to see what you saw, I was sick. I'm sorry. I'm _so_ sorry. I just really _really_ want to know my only daughter. Please?" Christine apoligized.

Summer thought about her answer. She blurted out the question, "Do you have children?"

"Yes, I have a son. He's eight, I just got married to the father in spring," Christine answered, "You're half-brother's name is Jacob, and my husband is Dan,"

Summer was going to answer Christine's plea for forgiveness right then, but she wanted to know more. She didn't bother to care about manners, she didn't feel like she owed it to her mother. "Why didn't you get married when you got pregnant?" she asked.

"I couldn't. It was too soon," Christine said simply, "Do you have an answer to my question yet?"

Summer took a deep breath.

"Yes,"

* * *

"Dark curly hair, white male," Sandy told the coast guard official who was asking for Seth's description, "Yes. Thank you, we'll be wating," 

"How long will it be?" Kirsten asked hopefully, looking up from her nails.

"They said at the least a few days," Sandy answered, "They don't really know,"

Kirsten shifted her wait uncomfortably. "They're supposed to be the coast guard, guard the coast, coasting guarding, how is 'not really knowing' guarding the damn coast?" She asked, slightly shouting, but mostly irritated.

"Kirsten," Sandy said gently.

"How are you so fucking calm, Sandy? Don't you worry?" Kirsten asked, raising her voice a bit.

Sandy sighed and looked down at the floor, as if it would provide him with the answer to her question. "I do worry. I worry a lot. I just don't show it. Because if I do, it'll worry you more. And I don't think they could take more protection from you," he answered with a with a little, slightly wry smile.

Kirsten couldn't help but smile a little. After everything, after all the years, Sandy could still make her smile when her mascara was falling down her cheeks and her eyes were red from all the tears. She got up to throw her arms around his neck.

Maybe he would protect her like she tried to protect her sons and the child she never knew. She was young. It was a drunken mistake. She didn't even know the father. She had to protect that baby from how he would grow up. She didn't know what else to do.

Now Sandy's warm arms held her, she felt like nothing in the world could touch her.

* * *

"I've tried to understand, but I don't know if I can. And I doubt you could understand what I've gone through. But..." Summer hesitated. She needed to make sure she was sure about what she was going to say next. "Maybe, if I talk to you and we take the time to get to know each other we can finally know each other. And...that's what I want. I've wanted to talk to you for years and years. And I want to learn to see you as a mother. I'll send you pictures, and you can send me pictures of Jacob and Dan, but, I don't want to meet you. Not now, at least. So, now, I just want to talk to you, and learn to trust you a little. Okay?" she finished. 

"Yes. Thank you so much, Summer," Christine replied, happiness was evident in her voice.

Summer couldn't help but smile. _Finally_. Finally she was going to find her mother again. The woman who had pushed her on the swings, shared ice cream with her, and put her to bed. "So...Tell me about Seth,"

"It's a long story..." Summer began.

"Then tell me all of it. I want to hear how you became you," Christine stated.

"Okay," Summer said, "Okay,"

* * *

Kirsten frantically picked up the phone around seven that night. She hoped it was Ryan, or Seth, or the Coast Guard. _Anyone_. Just a reassurance. 

"It's Summer, is this Kirsten?" Kirsten was a little disapointed, but was always happy to talk to Summer.

"Hi, Summer. We contacted the Coast Guard. They're going to try to find Seth," she informed.

"Oh my God, that's great. How long?" Summer asked, excitedly.

"They're not sure," Kirsten answered.

"What? They're the Coast Guard, they should be coasting guarding!" Summer yelped.

Kirsten chuckled a little. "Exactly what I said," she commented. Talking to Summer seemed to relax her a little.

"Um, I called my mom today," Summer blurted.

"Oh...How, um, is she?" Kirsten asked, completely surprised.

"She has a husband. And a son. I have an-eight-year-old brother named Jacob. And she's fine now. I'm going to get to know her, but I _don't_ want to visit her, or even see her in person," Summer explained.

"Are you alright with it?" Kirsten asked, clearly concerned, with a feeling of wanting to protect Summer.

"Yeah. I'm fine," Summer stated. She really was. She was fine with everything now. For once, she was totally fine with everything. It was new.

* * *

**Disclaimer:** I have no affliations with _The O.C._, or Fox. So just leave me alone, **okay?!** _Waaaaaah!_

**A/N:** Oy. This took me so long to write. So much going on here, one of the longest chapters of a story I've ever written! Like with a lot of my other chapters, I'm not totally happy with it, but I'm learning. I loved to write the drama though, I (oddly) find it a little easier then writing fluff. Weird. Thank you to everyone still reviewing! I'm going to be busier now because I'm starting school again and I won't be able to update as frequently, but I'm going to try very, _very _hard to finish this and have at least the first chapter of the sequel up before the season two begins. Only two more chapters left of _Motherly Comfort_...


	9. Shopping, Spas, and Salad

Kirsten woke up in a great mood. It was the first of July. Seth would probably be home soon. She just knew. She thought she did. Mother instict? Maybe.

The sun was shining and it was warm outside. On top of it all, a bunch of stores were having sales. And that just put the cherry on top.

She _needed_ to shop. Not one of those quick shopping trips when she drags one of the boys along or a lengthy-all-day shopping exploration with some Newpsies. She knew just who to call.

* * *

Summer woke up in a grumpy state. She was tangled in her sheets and on the floor. How she had gotten there she wasn't sure. July had officially began. That meant her both was in about a month and Seth had to be back by then. Or she would kick his ass. 

She picked herself off the ground and slowly walked to the shower. The water was cold. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a yellow piece of paper on her bathroom mirror. "_Hot water's out. It'll be fixed by 3:00-Lauren_,"

Summer eyed the clock on the wall. 12:30. Damn.

Only one thing could cheer her up. Shopping. Just then, the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Summer, do you have plans today?"

"Kirsten, if you could see my face right now..."

"Got it. Want to go shopping? It's a great way to spend the great day,"

"Sure. What great day are we talking about?"

* * *

Summer and Kirsten strolled through the shopping center side by side, excitedly yelping every time there was a cute item in the window, and just _having_ to go inside the store, always emerging with at least one new item. By the time they got to Betsey Johnson, Kirsten was sitting on one of the pink couches in the store instead of browsing the racks. 

Summer swung around to face Kirsten, her bags nearly hitting her in the face.

"What are you doing? Don't you see these shoes? And dresses? Look at the frills, Kirsten!" Summer exclaimed, with more energy then Kirsten had ever seen her with before.

"I'm tired. Frappacinos do nothing," Kirsten sighed. She leaned on her shopping bags tiredly.

Summer shrugged. "Yeah. I guess I'll just try on a dress and then we can go. Oh! I know! We can go to a spa!" she yelped, still jumpy. Her burst of liveliness was really made from two things. Her shopping, and the coffee and sweets she had earlier that day.

"Sure. That'd be nice, I know a great pla--"

Summer cut Kirsten off before she could finish with a shriek of, "Oh my God! It's the solid blue satin dress with the white lace trim!"

Kirsten laughed a little at the way Summer just knew the name of the dress like she knew her name. The girl was a true shop-a-holic.

* * *

The click-clack of the girls' heels echoed through the room. "I'm pretty sure you have to call before to get in," Summer whispered in Kirsten's ear, "It's supposed to be exlclusive," 

"I know what to do," Kirsten whispered back.

"Hi," Kirsten said loudly with a smile to the person at the front behind the counter, "I'm Meg Ryan's sister, this is her daughter. She should be coming in about an hour because of her flight, she said for us to go in first,"

"Sure, what's the appoitment under?"

Summer looked at Kirsten nervously. "Ryan," Kirsten stated confidently.

The woman shook her head 'no'. "There's no appoitment in here under the name Ryan or Meg that's scedualed for any time soon,"

Kirsten sighed falsely. "Oh, Meg! She must've forgotten. Do you think we could just get in anyway?"

The woman shook her head.

Kirsten stomped her foot and walked out of the spa in a huff, an embarrassed Summer trailed behind her.

"It worked before,"

"I's okay. I wanna go hang up all my new clothes anyway,"

Kirsten nodded. "I have this stupid 'Girls' Night Out' thing for all these Newpsie wives. I was invited. We're just going to go out to dinner or something,"

"Why do you go to those things anyway?"

Kirsten started the car. "I don't know. I guess I just don't like being the topic of people gossiping. I've had that plenty of times. Like when Julie Cooper missed one event, everyone starts saying she's sleeping with some high school boy, Luke or Lennie," she explained.

Summer tightened up a little and pinched her leg to make sure she wouldn't let herself blurt anything out.

"You okay?"

"Secrets are no fun,"

* * *

Summer ate another bite of her salad while her father at the foriegn dish that Yvonne, the maid and cook, had conjured up. 

Lauren was out at some "Girls' Night Out" thing while Neil and Summer ate and shared a rather silent conversation.

"You should really have some of this, Summer," Neil said after a sip of his wine. Red. Summer's mother hated white wine. He never drank white wine any more.

"I called her. We talked,"

Neil looked up from his plate with a look of confusion on his face. "Who?"

"Mom. My mom, Christine. She lives in New York. She's married. She has a son,"

Neither of them knew what to say next. It was evident Neil was upset. He hadn't wanted his daughter to talk to Christine, he didn't know what she was like now. He was still protective of his little girl and didn't want anyone to hurt her.

"I told you not to ever talk to her,"

"She's my _mother_, I have a right to,"

"I'm your _father_, I have a right to tell you what to do. I raised you, not her,"

Summer began to get upset. She looked him dead in the eye. "Really? Because you seemed to be too busy screwing girls, marrying druggies, giving people lipo, and going away on trips to actually be my dad or raise me," she shot back icily.

With that it was silent. Summer said quietly, "I'm full," and went up to her room, leaving Neil to think about what she said.

* * *

**A/N:** I don't know anything about shopping centers or spas in Newport, so that's purely fiction based on no knowledge. I also presumed Kirsten still doesn't know about Luke & Julie. One more chapter, kids! A lot of storylines won't be completely wrapped up in this story. They won't be completely wrapped up in the sequel either, so use your imaginations! I'll try to get the final chapter up by...hm, Monday at the latest. I already have about a quarter of it written. The first chapter of the sequel might be up by any time next week, considering I already have it all written, I just need to edit. Tell me how I did with this chapter, how can I improve without feedback? Besfore I wrap this up, please (self-pimping, so bad!) read my new story "Maybe", if you'll into Seth/Summer, it's for you. =) 


	10. Home Again: Final

**A/N: **My last one! This is so sad! I really hope you like how I end it, and I hope you read the sequel that should begin sometime in the coming week called _Giving Thanks_. Thanksgiving fic. It's sort of in the same universe but not all about Summer & Kirsten. I'd really like to thank every single person who reviewed, you kept me going this entire time. **HOTTERTHNU/ally**, **Christy**, **Saxaphonebaby**,** greenglowchassis**,** BlueStarGirl**,** storymom**,** muchtvs**,** Nyasha 63**,** skinny5s**,** Darrel Doomvomit**,** Candy.07**,** miss-suga13**,** ctoan**,** tuesday**,** Melissa**,** benzbabidoll**,** Brittney**,** Wennie K. Hong**,** Claire**,** IluvRy**,** mikelucas1**,** Nels6354**,** OClover1**,** meg**,** Emma**,** adamismine69**,** Mrs.AdamBrody**,** kirstencohen**,** kay.note**-- thank you guys so much. You may have only reviewed once, you may have left valuable feedback, and I may love your work. It's great to get reviews from TWoP-ers 'cause I know how good your taste in fanfic is. Thanks so much! I have no idea how long it would take to get to Hawaii, so I'm sorry about that part. Hope you've enjoyed the story and like the little twist and FYI in this fic, Anna's feelings for Seth are stricly still platonic...Onto the final chapter...

The next few days Summer and Kirsten only had a handful of time to spend together. Caleb had called and told Kirsten the entire truth, that the Newport Group was in trouble.

Summer and Sandy tried to help Kirsten out, Sandy offering her a job at the law firm and Summer saying something about her father having "connections". Kirsten thanked them but just continued to try her best in her work, thinking that maybe, somehow, she could save the company.

Summer spent a little time with Marissa, but mostly moped around her house and made the occasional mall visit. July was moving by slowly. It was a month until Summer's birthday. _The jackass still isn't home!_

* * *

It was a Saturday. Kirsten was in her office, working. Sandy was still sleeping. The doorbell rang. Kirsten figured it was probably UPS, or Summer, which wouldn't be so bad. She did need to get her mind off of work. 

There he was. Her little boy.

His hair was a little longer. He had some stubble along his face. He had a look of innocence and a smile lighting up his whole face that said how sorry he was, and how happy he was to be home.

Kirsten flung her arms around him and tears slowly ran down her cheeks.

"Mom, you're gonna suffocate me!"

Seth was back.

"When did you get back?"

Seth walked inside his house, putting his black duffle bag at the front of the door. "Well, I stopped sailing about two weeks into my trip. I knew that if I kept going I'd die. At first, that wouldn't bother me, but I guess I realized how much I had at home. Called Anna. She told me how to get to Hawaii. I stayed there for the rest of the time," he explained as he streched on his couch. Tears were evident in his eyes.

Kirsten was upset. How could Anna not have called? Why didn't _he_ call?

"Why didn't Anna call?" she asked angrily.

Seth shrugged and looked down nervously. "She said she called Summer...and, um, Summer told her that the Coast Guard was looking for me, and told Anna to tell them wherever I was," he said, holding back tears.

"So...Anna never told Summer, and Summer never told me,"

Seth swallowed. "I guess they wanted to be loyal, I don't know...I'm so sorry, Mom. I'm so sorry. It was so stupid and I didn't even care about living any more or anything...I just thought I could have the possibility of dying doing something I loved, and...I don't know. It was so stupid. I wanted to get to you before the Coast Guard did," he said as he evolved into tears.

Kirsten couldn't do anything but comfort her son. She was upset, sure. And it was stupid, sure. But he was healthy and here. It might take him a little while to completely heal. But it was important that he did.

"Go wake up your father, and then go see your girlfriend," she ordered.

Seth looked up, not wiping away any tears. He nodded obeyingly.

His mother was calmer then he had expected.

* * *

Knocking. 

"What the fuck, Lauren?" Summer shouted. She rolled over in her bed, "It's like ten in the fucking morning, shit face!"

She sighed angrily and rolled out of bed. She opened her bedroom door. There he was. She slammed her bedroom door.

She bit her lip. It wasn't him. It couldn't be. It wasn't how she had thought about it. She wasn't supposed to be wearing a big gray t-shirt and boxer shorts and he wasn't supposed to show up at 10:00 in the morning.

Summer slowly opened the door again. She wanted to kiss him. She wanted to hug him. She wanted to jump into his arms and never let go. But all she could do was begin to cry and punch him the arm. Hard. _Really_ hard. As if to let out all of her mixed emotions in one hit.

He closed the door behind them. Summer stood across from him. They stared at each other.

"What the hell were you thinking, Cohen?"

"Shh!"

"Shh my ass! Do you know how much I cried over you? Do you know how much I had to go through with you gone?"

Seth shook his head "No". He felt even more tears coming on then he had when he talked to his mother and father combined. They had both said something about his selfishness, but with Summer...He knew he could lose her. That's what was the worst part about all of it.

"Hawaii, Seth! Hawaii! Do you know what it's like to have your boyfriend's ex call and tell you where he is? And to know how worried your mother was and _not _tell her because I knew how you needed to get away or some shit like that? Why didn't you call me?" she asked. It hurt for her to say it, and it hurt when her eyes get blurry from the tears. But she could still see that he was crying. Sobbing. Bawling.

He was sitting on the floor, just letting his tears flow and flow. Like a little lost boy in the mall. And Summer saw that he knew how selfish and wrong what he did was. And that all seemed to fade away because she found this sympathy for him.

So she sat down next to him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders and wiped away one of his tears. He winced, and she realized how sunburned he was. He turned to her and she whispered, "I think...I'm in love with you,"

Summer had never seen Seth smile so broadly ever. His entire face was overtaken with happiness and although he was still crying a little, it didn't even show. "I love you too," he said.

Summer pulled him into a deep kiss. He pulled away happily. It was if Summer's three words made everything different. And she knew how much he cared.

"What did you do all summer?"

Summer smiled and thought about her times with Kirsten. "I hung out with your mom," she answered.

Seth raised an eyebrow. "You hung out with my _mom_?"

"Well, it all started because of you..."

* * *

_Complete._


End file.
